Knopes was introduced by his
DCLPO, Command Senior Chief
Weba Roberts. In addition to being
an outstanding leader, she said
Knopes was an exceptional metal
artist whose mentoring of junior
Sailors has kept morale high during
the ship’s latest deployment.

Knopes, in turn, praised the
chain of command on the ship, as
well as the Sailors who work for
him. He also thanked the Navy
League for putting together the recognition event.

Ship’s Serviceman 2nd ClassMontrell Thomas is the ship’sThird Quarter SOQ. His planningand foresight contributed to thedivision earning the Commander,Naval Air Forces Dorie P. MillerAward for the best wardroom oper-ation in the fleet.

Thomas was introduced by
his DCLPO, Master Chief Ship’s
Serviceman Warren Brown from the
Supply Department. He described
Thomas as a vital part of the Supply
Team while serving as the Leading
Petty Officer of the Hotel Services
Division on the carrier.

“[Thomas] is the type of leader
who makes his Sailors better. I
always see him motivating them.
With over 400 spaces of the ship
to take care of, it’s a hard job. But
I always see his Sailors smiling and
doing a great job taking care of the
crew,” Brown said.

Master Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Jack Hudson, Rolava’s
DCLPO, introduced her prior to
receiving her award. Hudson
recounted how Rolava excelled at
performing a job in the carrier’s
control tower usually staffed by a
Second Class Petty Officer. Hudson
also noted how Rolava speaks four
languages — Latvian, Russian,
German and English — which has
come in handy many times during
her service.

Aviation Support Equipment
Technician Airman Darrell Farnham is the Blue Jacket of the
Quarter. In addition to contributing to his division’s 98 percent
support equipment availability rate
in support of Carrier Air Wing
Nine operations and Air, Supply
and Combat Systems department